


Only Human

by MissYuki1990



Series: Curing My SNK Obsession [4]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: (there's something really wrong with me), Caring Levi, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Grief/Mourning, M/M, slash-if-you-squint-really-really-hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-06
Updated: 2015-02-06
Packaged: 2018-03-10 18:36:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3299690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissYuki1990/pseuds/MissYuki1990
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>Eren reminded Levi of himself; the way he was a very, very long time ago, before he learned at a really young age that life was neither fair nor easy, and that one had to fight every day for the smallest of victories which sometimes come at too great a price.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>But the sight of Eren right now was making concern spark in Levi’s chest. It was pretty hot that day, and most of the squad wore clothes fit for summer, but Eren was still in his uniform, although even from this distance, Levi could see that it didn’t fit Eren the way it did before.</em>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Only Human

**Disclaimer:** I claim no rights to the characters of Shingeki no Kyojin.

**Dedicated to[ levixerwin](http://levixerwin.tumblr.com/)! Cheer up, sweetie!! There are so many people here who love you!!**

* * *

Levi looked out the window of his office when the sounds of many different voices reached his ears to see the youngest members of his squad running around playing chase, except it wasn't a normal game. It took less than a second to figure out the pattern, and a soft snort escaped him as he braced his right elbow on top of his desk and perched his chin on his loosely clenched fist.

This had to be Armin's idea, because Levi was certain the others wouldn't have thought of making a children's game into a training exercise, especially since Jean and Mikasa seemed somewhat hesitant.

Levi glanced at the formation Armin thought of to make those among them who were not as strong as the others practice harder by being targets, and Levi’s gaze settled on Eren, eyebrows narrowing when he noticed that something seemed to be wrong with the Shifter.

It couldn’t be seen with a single glance, but Levi has been spending an awful lot of time around Eren, partly because it was his job to watch the brat, and partly because he came to care for him.

Eren reminded Levi of himself; the way he was a very, _very_ long time ago, before he learned at a really young age that life was neither fair nor easy, and that one had to fight every day for the smallest of victories which sometimes come at too great a price.

But the sight of Eren right now was making concern spark in Levi’s chest. It was pretty hot that day, and most of the squad wore clothes fit for summer, but Eren was still in his uniform, although even from this distance, Levi could see that it didn’t fit Eren the way it did before.

Did Eren lose some weight?

Even though Eren was running around keeping up with the others without visible effort, Levi could see that something was wrong with him, and it worried the captain. He wondered if Mikasa and Armin noticed it. He wondered if the two could see what Levi was seeing.

And he wondered why he hadn’t noticed it sooner.

* * *

Levi sat at the head of the table in the big dining room, steel eyes observing everything with clinical detachment, although he appeared to be sitting there enjoying his cup of tea to anyone not paying enough attention.

It was starting to bother him more than he was willing to admit.

He couldn’t keep his eyes off of Eren, trying to point his finger at the exact thing that was wrong with the younger man.

Eren was laughing with his friends, appearing absolutely normal, and yet Levi could see that there was something wrong, but for the life of him he couldn’t pinpoint it!

It was vexing to say the least.

He was supposed to know his teammates. He was supposed to know what went on with them, because if something was wrong then they wouldn’t perform right and they’d end up getting killed, and Levi couldn’t allow that.

They’ve lost too many good men already, and if there was anything Levi could do to lower the chances of that happening he would damn well do it, even if it was something as stupid as reminding the idiots working under him to take care of themselves.

Unfortunately, until he figured out what was going on with Eren, Levi could do nothing. The brat had enough on his mind without Levi harping on him without a reason.

Levi would give it another few days to try and figure out what was the exact problem with Eren, hoping that Mikasa and Armin would be there to act if Eren got worse.

But the fact that neither seemed to see the way Eren’s eyes would dull whenever there was no one looking at him made Levi doubt the two would actually do anything. He would have to get Eren alone and talk to the brat.

It wouldn’t do for humanity’s hope to get himself killed.

* * *

Easier said than done.

Levi has tried to get Eren alone for the past three days, but to his growing annoyance Hanji got her hands on Eren and the accursed brat followed after her like a lost pup. Levi didn’t know what experiments she was doing on Eren this time, and Levi couldn’t really make himself care, because just _thinking_ about Hanji brought forth a headache nothing could cure.

So Levi made peace with having to wait until Eren showed up – hopefully in one piece – to see what was bothering the brat.

And it better be good, because if Levi has spent the past week and a half worrying for nothing, he _would_ beat Eren up.

 _Again_.

* * *

Fourteen days, sixteen hours and thirty-six minutes.

Not that Levi was counting.

Levi has seen neither hide nor hair of Eren for fourteen days, sixteen hours and… thirty- _seven_ minutes. If it wasn’t known that Hanji took him for experimenting they would have started a search four days ago.

As a matter of fact, Levi had noticed that Hanji did her damn best to avoid him, the woman being more skittish than ever, glancing at Levi with wide eyes before she would hurry off, muttering something into her chin.

Levi had asked her to come to him several times now, but every time she’d have a damn good reason to avoid staying alone with him, and even though Levi wanted to check up on Eren to see if he was still in one piece – first – he trusted Hanji to keep the boy alive ( _mostly_ ), and – second – he simply _refused_ to go anywhere _near_ Hanji’s lab.

Although that resolve was slowly fading.

Three sharp knocks woke Levi from his musings and he looked up with a stare that would kill lesser men. Thankfully Hanji was not one of them, although she _did_ enter Levi’s office as though she was walking on eggshells, glancing around as though she was marking escape routes.

“What is it?” Levi bit out sharply, glaring at the woman who approached his table so obviously nervous that Levi wanted to throw something at her, preferably something that wouldn’t break and make him clean his rooms once more of anything other than her blood.

“Now, Levi…” she spoke, obviously uncomfortable and trying to downplay whatever she did. “First I need to tell you that I didn’t mean-”

“What did you do?” Levi growled, eyes turning colder than glaciers and more dangerous than anything Hanji has ever faced, and he seemed somehow _bigger_ as he slowly stood up, hands fisting on top of his desk, knuckles white with the strength of his grip.

“I – I wanted to test out a drug I was developing…” She didn’t even manage finish the first part of the sentence before Levi rounded his desk and ran out of the office towards Hanji’s part of the old Headquarters.

Levi paid absolutely no attention to the people he ran past in his haste to reach Eren. His mind was already coming up with various situations, each worse than the one before, Hanji’s men jumping out of Levi’s way when he reached the room he knew Eren would be in.

He all but kicked the door open, marching into the room only to halt mid-step, whole body freezing at the sight in front of him.

“H-heichō?” the voice which stuttered out that simple word sounded nothing like Eren’s, the young man looking as though he hadn’t eaten in weeks, usually lightly tanned skin pale and visibly clammy, and it was so obvious that Eren was _beyond_ weak since he couldn’t even support himself on his hands, falling against the pillows with a weak, hardly audible, pain-filled groan.

For a few long moments Levi could do nothing but stare in horror, vaguely aware of the people standing in the hallway with Hanji just a few steps behind Levi, and the Captain could _hear_ her gasping for air, trying to push words past her lips.

But he wouldn’t give her a chance.

Without even thinking about it, Levi marched right to Eren, not saying a word as he hurriedly wrapped the covers around the young man’s body and gathered him into his arms, the fact that Eren neither protested nor struggled telling Levi just how far out of it Eren was.

Levi turned on his heel, everyone moving out of his way as he walked out of the room, not even sparing a glance in Hanji’s direction although he had seen her staring at Eren in obvious desperation. The rational part of Levi’s brain told him that something must have gone wrong, because he knew Hanji wouldn’t intentionally hurt Eren, but the part of Levi which was mostly led by his emotions -- although they rarely got the better of him -- was too enraged, too _furious_ to actually offer any sort of comfort to the woman.

Levi reached his rooms in record time, ignoring the people staring at him and Eren in horror, and he laid the young man on his bed, quickly tucking the covers around the shivering body. He placed his right hand on Eren’s forehead, the frown on Levi’s face darkening even more when he felt how hot Eren’s skin was, although it seemed impossible since he was already _radiating_ killing intent.

“Damn that woman,” Levi pressed out through his teeth and moved away from the bed, quickly taking off his brown vest and hanging it on a chair before he brought it over to the bed. He hurriedly filled a basin with cold water, grabbed a few clean towels, and placed it all on the nightstand.

Before he could take a seat in the chair and start tending to the younger man, the door of his room burst open and Mikasa and Armin came to a sharp stop, their eyes widening with fear at the sight of their friend.

“What happened?” Mikasa breathed out, too shocked to move while Armin appeared to be close to a nervous breakdown.

“An experiment gone wrong,” Levi spoke, trying to curb his anger as not to make it seem as though he was angry with them. “I’ll be taking care of him.” The two looked at him with wide eyes.

“We can-”

“No,” Levi cut Armin off, looking away from the blond and at Eren who appeared to have fallen asleep, whole body trembling even though he was under three thick blankets. “You need to keep training. You can come see him when he’s awake. I’ll send someone to get you.”

“Heichō-”

“Armin,” Levi slowly turned towards the young blond, the steel he had for eyes appearing harder than the crystal Annie created around herself. “You have your orders.”

“Yes, sir,” Mikasa bit out, glanced once more at Eren before she grabbed a hold of Armin’s right forearm and pulled him out of Levi’s room, closing the door on their way out.

Levi breathed out slowly, eyes slipping closed for a moment before he straightened, breathed in, and took a seat in the chair, rolling his sleeves up to his elbows. He unraveled his cravat and hung it on the back of his chair, popping the first two buttons of his shirt out of their holes to get comfortable, because he knew that there was a long day and an even longer night ahead of him.

Drowning one towel in the cold water Levi squeezed the excess water out and folded the towel before he placed it on Eren’s forehead, frowning at the pained groan leaving chapped lips. Eren’s cheeks were indrawn and there were dark smudges under his eyes, and Levi recalled how light Eren appeared to be as the captain carried him, making Levi conclude that Eren indeed lost weight.

Pulling Eren’s arms from under the covers Levi wrapped wet towels around Eren’s wrists, quickly finding a few thicker towels to place them under Eren’s hands to prevent the covers from getting wet.

Levi then settled in the chair, crossing his arms and legs, gaze settling on Eren’s face.

Countless thoughts rolled through Levi’s mind, all of them centered around Hanji acting strange for four days and the shock which appeared in Eren’s eyes when Levi burst into his room. For some reason Levi couldn’t shake off the feeling that Eren had something – if not _everything_ to do with Hanji not telling Levi what was going on.

Levi worked with Hanji for long enough to know that she would have never allowed this to get this far without a _damn_ good reason, and she wouldn’t have kept it secret from Levi that something went wrong if she didn’t think she could fix it.

Well, as it seemed, Hanji finally realized that she _couldn’t_ fix it, and while Levi knew less about medicine than Hanji, he wouldn’t allow the woman anywhere _near_ Eren for at least a month.

But while that _could_ be handled -- and Levi knew Hanji wouldn’t dare contradict him -- the thing that worried Levi more than this experiment gone wrong was the fact that his guts kept telling him that it was Eren who asked Hanji not to reveal his condition to the captain or anyone else for that matter.

Levi couldn’t help but think that it all had something to do with the way Eren acted before this experiment, but unfortunately, he wouldn’t find out what was wrong until Eren woke up, because Levi didn’t believe he could face Hanji right now without causing her serious bodily harm.

But what was wrong with Eren?

Looking at him now, Levi found it hard to believe that this was one of their top soldiers, one of the best ten, that he was the Shifter which brought down the Female Titan. Eren looked so small and weak to Levi, _delicate_ even, although Levi _knew_ Eren’s true strength. Right now that strength was nowhere to be found.

“He – heichō…” Levi looked up when he thought he heard his title passing chapped, pale lips in a wavering whisper, and the captain tensed up, his right leg meeting the ground as his hands fell to his thighs.

Levi was sitting beside Eren on the bed before he could blink, staring down into a pair of dazed, shadowed teal eyes, surprised when he realized that his heart was beating faster than normal and that he seemed to have trouble breathing.

“Don’t speak,” Levi muttered, placing his right hand on Eren’s chest to keep the young man lying down, wrapping his left hand around Eren’s right forearm, “you need to rest.”

Eren squinted at him and Levi could swear that he could _hear_ every strained breath Eren took like the sound of wood scraping against a grater, feeling Eren’s frantic heartbeat under his hand.

“Sorry… heichō…” Eren muttered, lips hardly parting as he spoke, words separated by strained, raspy gasps for air, “Don’t be – don’t be angry with bun-taichō…” there was a pleading undertone in Eren’s hoarse voice and it made annoyance spark back to life in Levi closely followed by anger, but it all faded into shock and horror when Eren spoke again, “I just wanted to be useful,” he said weakly, eyes already slipping closed, “since I already messed up so many times…”

Levi stared at the younger man with wide eyes, utterly still, the beating of his heart echoing in his ears with Eren’s words running through his mind almost _accusingly_.

And all of a sudden everything – the whole mystery of Eren’s condition – cleared up.

The weight of everyone’s hopes, everyone’s trust - everyone’s expectations was placed on Eren’s shoulders. Everyone’s lives were placed in his hands, and no one bothered to think how Eren felt about that, how he felt about being considered humanity’s hope.

No one thought to consider the weight of it all. No one thought to try and think how _they_ would feel if they suddenly found themselves in Eren’s position, at the same time hated and looked to for salvation.

And Levi…

Heavens, how he loathed himself in that moment!

He was supposed to take care of Eren. He was Eren’s captain, Eren’s guardian. He was supposed to _see_ what troubled the younger man, he was supposed to be there and offer strength and comfort because he too knew what it meant to carry the hopes of many people on his back, and yet he didn’t, not in the way he should have.

Levi took too long a time thinking about what was wrong with Eren to actually _talk_ to the younger man, and this is where it brought them.

“I asked – I asked Hanji-bun-taichō not to tell you…” Eren whispered, voice broken, quiet and yet higher than normal, hardly able to form words as weak as he was.

“Eren, don’t talk,” Levi pressed out, squeezing Eren’s forearm as he tried to get a hold of himself.

“I’ll be fine, heichō,” Eren breathed out, the corners of his lips curling up for the smallest of fragments, and Levi froze up, lips thinning in an agonized line as he stared at this young man, this Shifter that changed _everything_.

And by doing that, Eren made everyone forget that he was still _only human_ …

* * *

_But I'm only human,_  
 _And I bleed when I fall down…_

* * *

Levi ducked his head, straight black tresses falling over his eyes to cast dark shadows over them, the captain not even noticing that his whole body started to tremble.

He wanted to say something – _anything_ – but no words came to mind. Levi, the man who _always_ had something to say – who could always get his point across with his bluntness and disregard for authority – could find no words to say.

His head snapped up, mouth going dry and air hitching in his throat, when a trembling hand covered his right, and he found Eren looking at him with a wavering smile, dazed teal eyes squinting at him as Eren tried to stay awake with all his might.

“I’ll be fine… heichō,” Eren gasped, eyes slowly slipping closed, even though he still fought against sleep. “You’ll see. I won’t fail you again.”

* * *

_Your words in my head, knives in my heart;_  
 _You build me up and then I fall apart,_  
 _'Cause I'm only human..._

* * *

Levi swallowed thickly feeling as though someone doused him in ice-cold water and stabbed a scorching hot poker into his heart at the same time.

_‘I won’t fail you again.’_

The captain pressed his teeth tightly together, struggling to stay calm, staring in dilated teal eyes even though he was almost certain that they couldn’t see him.

Not really thinking about what he was doing, Levi bowed over Eren, resting his forehead on the lukewarm towel separating it from Eren’s burning skin, and the captain closed his eyes, licking his lips, doubting that Eren would remember this when he got better, but having to get this off of his chest, otherwise he wouldn’t find rest.

“You didn’t fail anyone, brat. We…” Levi choked up, his right hand fisting in Eren’s shirt, “ _I_ am the one who failed _you_ ,” he pressed out, “and I swear it won’t happen again.”

* * *

_I’m only human…_

* * *

“So sleep now… _Eren_ ,” Levi whispered, leveling his lips with Eren’s ear, feeling the younger man’s breathing going steady, telling Levi that Eren had fallen asleep, but the captain kept murmuring words which simply wouldn’t stop flowing down his lips.

“I’ll watch over you. I promise. You’ll never feel alone again... I promise.”

* * *

Levi woke up with a groan already stretching before he even opened his eyes, feeling the dull, annoying ache in his lower back and shoulders from sitting in a wooden chair for two days, leaving it only to take care of Eren, replace water and towels, get something to eat or use the toilet.

He huffed and raised his hands to rub his eyes, trying to wake up, awareness coming too slow for his liking. His hands flopped down into his lap and he finally managed to open his eyes only to freeze up when he saw a pair of only slightly dazed teal orbs staring at him with so many different emotions dancing in them that it was difficult to name them all.

The most prominent ones though were worry, confusion and something akin to _fear_ , although Levi couldn’t understand what Eren should be afraid of.

“So,” Levi muttered, straightening in his chair as he crossed his arms over his chest and his feet at the ankles, tucking them under the chair, “you finally decided to wake up.”

Eren swallowed audibly as he ducked his head, hands fisting in the covers gathered in his lap, shoulders hunched and tense.

Levi took it all in with a scrutinizing stare. He knew that Eren wasn’t stupid. He knew that Eren was well aware of where he was, and that he might have already figured out what happened depending on how much he remembered and for how long he has been awake.

Levi sighed and shook his head as he stood up, walking over to his desk as he rolled his sleeves down and buttoned the cuffs before he put on his vest.

“I don’t know what happened,” he spoke as he buttoned his vest, hearing the quiet rustle of clothes and covers in the deafening silence between them. “Hanji hasn’t shown up before me since I brought you here. Whatever you were trying to prove by telling her to keep quiet about your condition, this will be the first and the last time.”

“Heichō-”

“Quiet,” Levi interjected, tying his cravat before he turned around to face Eren, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared at the younger man with eyes harsher than steel. “Just because you've managed to fool Mikasa and Armin, doesn’t mean you’ve managed to fool me, and I strongly suggest you don’t try that again.”

Eren stared at Levi with wide eyes, those teal orbs appearing bigger because of pale, indrawn cheeks.

Levi expected Eren to contradict him. He expected that the younger man would try to defend himself. Levi thought Eren would argue, or at the very least try to come up with a decent excuse. So when Eren ducked his head again, so obviously avoiding Levi’s harsh stare, trying to make himself smaller, it made Levi recoil.

“I just wanted to be useful,” Eren whispered, hands fisted so hard in the covers that his knuckles turned white, and Levi didn’t miss the minute shivers shaking the form of the younger man. “I messed up… so many times. So many things-”

“I already told you, brat,” Levi drawled, trying to act his usual self, not really knowing how to react, “no one could have predicted that outcome.” He swallowed thickly ducking his head as he shifted most of his weight on his right leg. “Wallowing in self-pity won’t bring them back.”

Even though Levi wasn’t looking at Eren, grey eyes staring unseeing at a spot on the wooden floor, he could feel the younger man’s eyes on his face.

“Doing reckless things won’t bring them back,” Levi muttered, hands fisting in the sleeves of his shirt as memories flashed through his mind. “Nothing will turn back time, and nothing will bring them back. The only thing we can do is carry their will and make sure that their deaths weren’t in vain.”

Levi made himself raise his head to look at Eren, his heart clenching in his chest when he found the younger man staring at him with wide eyes, as though he was _begging_ Levi to make him believe those words.

“Nothing can bring them back,” Levi repeated both for his benefit and Eren’s, feeling as though he has been physically hit when those teal eyes turned glassy and Eren’s bottom lip quivered, the Shifter letting go of a choked up gasp.

“So what am I supposed to do?” Eren whispered brokenly, looking at Levi as though only he could make his pain go away, as though Levi was the only person who could make him feel less guilty, make him believe that he couldn’t have done anything to save them.

“Live,” the captain muttered, unconsciously taking a step forward, his legs moving of their own accord bringing him closer to Eren until Levi took a seat to the younger man’s right, looking straight into the absolutely unique eyes. “Fight,” Levi spoke in a voice hardly louder than a whisper, and a shiver shook Eren’s body.

Neither noticed Levi’s right hand settling on Eren’s thigh, but Levi noticed his young companion holding his breath as the captain leaned closer, staring straight in Eren’s eyes.

“ _Survive_ ,” Levi spoke firmly, eyes narrowing for the smallest of fragments. “You’re alive. Make sure you stay that way. Do your best and don’t look back, but never forget.”

“But what if I can’t?” Eren choked out and tears trailed down his cheeks, gasping for air as he struggled with emotions overwhelming him. “What if I can’t? I tried, heichō!” Eren cried out in a broken, coarse voice. “I tried to move on! I tried to be strong! But I’m not! I can’t do anything! I’m – I’m only…”

* * *

_But I'm only human,_  
 _And I bleed when I fall down._  
 _I'm only human,_  
 _And I crash and I break down._

* * *

“You’re only human.”

Eren stopped breathing all together, staring at Levi with such an expression of open confusion, of hope and desperation, and Levi felt as though he could slap himself – himself and every single person that came in contact with Eren, because while some of them thought they finally found a way to defeat the Titans once and for all others started regarding Eren as less than human, when in fact he appeared to be more human than anyone else.

“You’re only human, Eren,” Levi repeated his words, giving Eren’s thigh a reassuring squeeze, “and you can’t do anything alone.”

Eren stared at Levi for what felt like a short life-time, struggling to breathe, wanting to shout, but unable to push the words past the lump of pain and sorrow in his chest.

“I’m so sorry, heichō…” Eren finally pressed out, tears leaving red trails on pale cheeks. “I’m so sorry!”

* * *

_Your words in my head, knives in my heart;_  
 _you build me up and then I fall apart,_  
 _'Cause I'm only human…_

* * *

For a moment that lasted less than a second Levi was utterly still, looking with wide eyes at the boy that just threw himself at Levi, wrapping trembling arms around Levi’s waist as he hid his face in the captain’s chest.

And then, even though he couldn’t remember ever doing this, Levi wrapped his arms around the younger man, silver eyes slipping closed as he ducked his head and buried his nose in sweat-mated strands of brown hair.

Levi rested his chin against the side of Eren’s head as the younger man moved closer, resting his head on Levi’s right shoulder as his hold on the captain grew tighter. Levi wrapped his right arm around Eren, entangling his left hand in the boy’s hair, allowing himself to draw strength from the younger man as he gave comfort to him.

 _‘Only human,’_ Levi thought to himself, squeezing his eyes tightly shut. _‘We’re only human.’_

Levi hugged Eren closer to himself, the younger man sobbing into Levi’s shoulder, and the older man squeezed his eyes tightly shut, his heart clenching within his chest.

For years Levi hasn’t allowed himself to truly mourn his fallen comrades. He knew that people regarded him as dull and boring, unapproachable and cold, and to a point he was. Life has never been kind to him, but that didn’t mean that Levi felt nothing.

Maybe he simply became too good at bottling it all up?

Maybe he made himself stop caring because that was the only way to deal with everything?

Maybe… just maybe, he made himself forget that he was human, and that sometimes humans need to let go.

And maybe – because Levi allowed himself to become like that – those working under him got the impression that they had to be like that too.

“We’re all only human,” Levi whispered, not realizing that he spoke aloud, and the young man trembling within Levi’s hold pulled himself even closer.

“How do you do it, heichō?” Eren choked out as he slowly raised his head, looking at Levi imploringly, and for the first time in a very, _very_ long while, Levi felt something sting his eyes. “How do you move on? How do you keep fighting?”

“Is there anything else to do?” Levi questioned, tilting his head to the right and looking straight in those enchanting eyes. “Giving up would be worse than spiting on the lives of those we’ve lost. What else is there to do except stand up and continue the fight?”

Eren stared at Levi for a long moment, rolling the captain’s words around in his head. His eyes started to widen with shock when callused, rough hands settled on his cheeks and Levi moved slightly closer, the warmth of the older man seeping into Eren’s body.

“We are soldiers, Eren,” Levi spoke slowly, his deep, throaty voice echoing through the silence, “but we are also only human. And yes, sometimes we must discard our humanity to achieve something, but that doesn’t erase the fact that we’re human in the end.”

“Heichō-”

“We aren’t invincible, Eren,” Levi cut the younger man off, staring straight into Eren’s eyes, thin black eyebrows narrowed. “We feel and we suffer. We lose more often than we win, and even those small victories are more often bitter than they are sweet. But one day we _will_ win this war,” Levi spoke with absolute certainty. “Together, we _will_ win.”

Eren forced down a swallow as those words hung between them, slowly etching themselves into his very core.

“You are not alone, Eren, and you don’t have to carry the weight of achieving freedom on your own.” Levi caressed pale, indrawn cheeks with his thumbs, hearing the hitch in Eren’s breathing. “Remember that next time you try to do something as stupid as pulling into yourself or risking your life for something.”

With that Levi moved back and slowly stood up, looking away from Eren and glancing towards the window at the setting sun.

“Heichō?” the softly spoken word made Levi look over his right shoulder at Eren, something moving within him when he saw the small smile tilting Eren’s lips. “Thank you,” Eren muttered, ducking his head a bit, fingers playing with a loose thread in the blanket covering his lap.

“Just make sure you don’t do something as stupid as this again and I won’t have to beat you up,” Levi muttered and turned on his heel, making his way towards the door. “I’ll order some soup for you.”

“Levi-heichō!” the younger man called out and Levi stopped in his tracks with his left hand wrapped around the doorknob. “I mean it, sir,” Eren spoke, voice gaining some strength, and Levi tilted his head to the side, offering a small nod. “Thank you. For everything.”

Not knowing what to say to that, Levi opened the door and walked out of the room and towards the kitchen, the whole conversation rolling around in his mind.

In the end, they were all only human.

They were weak, they were flawed and they were far from strong enough.

Even those considered strongest among them could fail.

But they weren’t alone, and together they _aren’t_ weak.

Together they are _strong_.

And that was the best thing about being human.

* * *

**Song that inspired the story:** ‘Human’ sung by Christina Perri, written by Martin Johnson and Christina Perri, published by Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC.

I claim no rights to the song.

* * *

**I hope you liked it!! Please leave a review and I hope to see you next time!! :D**


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